Madhya Pradesh emerges as India’s lightning hub: Report

livemint.com:

Disaster Management Authorities (SDMA) and District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMA) to last mile still have scope for improvement. The target should be to reach the last vulnerable and exposed persons and their compliance to the safety advisories too." “The language barrier in far flung tribal areas and hilly terrain pose further problems in outreach of the early warning. The lightning alert app ‘Damini’ is being developed by IITM, Pune on other regional languages to meet these challenges," he added.

Given their status as heritage sites and mass gathering spots, the implementation of preventive and mitigation strategies against lightning is of utmost importance. Recent discussions in the field have been fuelled by the lightning strike on the statue of Jesus Christ towering over Rio de Janeiro. Analysis and impact atmospheric electricity has been found interesting.

The micro zonation of lightning strikes of Balasore and Mirzapur has proved that all lightning flashes are not fatal. Rather there have been select areas and patterns wherein lightning strike shav been found fatal. With the creation of lightning safe shelters and sensitising people, the mortality could be stopped, the report said.

“A concerning trend is the escalation in atmospheric electricity, directly linked to the rise in lightning amplitudes. The lightning strikes have been observed in high currents of 280 to 314 kilo amperes in Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh. This phenomenon inevitably contributes to an increase in lightning strikes, warranting vigilant attention and mitigation measures." The loss of animals due to lightning strikes also demands attention.